The registration area on the 200th floor seemed to possess a strange sort of magic, as there were always a few disabled individuals lingering there. They were like hyenas; the moment Luo Ning arrived, their green-tinged, predatory eyes locked onto him.
However, after seeing the stable [TEN] surrounding Luo Ning's body, two of them turned their wheelchairs and chose to leave. Clearly, these losers only set their sights on newcomers who hadn't mastered Nen. They didn't even have the courage to challenge a fellow newcomer who had already unlocked their potential.
In Luo Ning's view, these people would be better off leaving Heavens Arena early to find some other line of work.
The remaining two, however, scrutinized Luo Ning for a long while before actively following him. It seemed they took him for a push-over.
The young lady at the registration desk handed a form directly to Luo Ning. It contained a very detailed schedule for match registration. Luo Ning had spoken with Milia previously; she wouldn't interfere with the content of his matches, but Luo Ning had to give her enough time to promote him and generate hype. Only then could they maximize the profits generated by the fight.
The few people approaching him were all described in the materials Milia had given him. Luo Ning didn't think he would lose to any of them. Thus, he directly wrote down April 25th on the registration form.
That was five days away.
He made no attempt to hide it, submitting the form under the watchful gaze of several ill-intentioned observers. When he turned around, he saw the two who had followed him also filling out registration forms. Their scheduled time was exactly April 25th.
One of them wore a cloak, but when he raised his hand, one could see he was missing an arm. The other had a hideous, jagged tear across his mouth, and half of his head was a chaotic mess of scars; it was a miracle he was even alive.
Luo Ning knew exactly how they had sustained those injuries. They had likely challenged Nen users recklessly upon reaching the 200th floor or had been sabotaged by veterans. They had endured a malicious 'Nen Baptism' on stage. Although they survived and gained the ability to use Nen because of it, they were left with irreversible physical damage.
"What are you looking at, kid?" Gallegos, whose face was only about a quarter intact, glared with his sole eye, which was filled with annoyance and ferocity.
"Haven't you considered wearing a mask? You're really ugly, and you have a bit of a stench."
Since the other party showed him malice, Luo Ning wasn't about to indulge him.
His steady [TEN] transformed into an explosive [REN] in an instant. Gallegos's temper flared. His powerful body stepped forward as he reached out to grab Luo Ning by the collar. The movement had the vibe of a common street thug's brawl.
Luo Ning wore a look of disgust. He stepped back to dodge Gallegos's assault while waving a hand in front of his face, as if trying to fan away a foul odor.
"Save your strength for the ring. I don't want my first win to die outside the arena." Walking quickly past the startled Gallegos, Luo Ning left him with a single, contemptuous remark.
Gallegos didn't attack again. Or rather, his provocation had been a facade. His goal was to find an opportunity to test Luo Ning's strength. Now that the boy had dodged his sudden attack, he had a general judgment of Luo Ning's capabilities. Continuing the assault would only escalate the conflict further.
He could tell that although the boy had dodged, he hadn't appeared completely unfazed. In that split second, Gallegos caught a flash of panic in the boy's eyes.
A cruel smile crept onto his face. Gallegos felt victory was already in his grasp. He would make this sharp-tongued brat pay the price in the ring. A newcomer should act like a newcomer; accepting a baptism was the proper path to climbing the 200th floor. Mastering Nen early didn't give him the right to act all high and mighty in front of veterans!
Thinking of this, Gallegos ignored the departing Luo Ning and handed in his registration form. Jared, the one-armed man beside him, submitted his form at the same time.
---
While riding the elevator, Luo Ning reviewed his acting performance. He felt it wasn't great. Only the slightly hurried departure at the end seemed to add some points in his mind. Gallegos's movements were too slow in his eyes; dodging was purely instinctive for his body. If that guy hadn't submitted the form, Luo Ning felt it would have been a waste of effort.
Additionally, upon leaving the registration desk, Luo Ning now held a room card for Room 2333, the single room where he would be staying for a while. The room was luxuriously decorated, with attendants on standby outside. Standing by the window and looking down, he could see most of the city, which was truly a refreshing sight.
The room was equipped with an LCD monitor. Not long after Luo Ning returned, a notification appeared on the screen.
[BATTLE DATE DETERMINED:
227TH FLOOR ARENA
APRIL 25TH, 3:00 PM!]
His opponent didn't disappoint him; it was Gallegos.
That guy had indeed submitted the form. Luo Ning did not underestimate his enemy. Although he felt Gallegos was no match for him, a lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit. Moreover, he wasn't prepared to reveal his trump card, the Sharingan, just yet.
In comparison, Luo Ning had some ideas regarding Uvogin's Big Bang Impact. He wanted to try and use it during this match. His fight with Uvogin had been brief, but the Sharingan had perfectly captured every instance of Uvogin activating the Big Bang Impact.
However, using the Sharingan to copy and unleash it wasn't easy. The difficulty didn't lie in the ability itself, but in the fact that once Luo Ning entered the Sharingan state, his Nen would entirely convert into Chakra. There was a fundamental difference between Chakra and Nen when it came to performing techniques.
Chakra was an energy that circulated within the body, while Nen was an application of energy that exploded outside the body. In other words, if his Nen converted to Chakra, Luo Ning couldn't perform the copied Big Bang Impact.
Was there a way to enter the Sharingan state while still maintaining his Nen? If he could fuse a Nen ability with the explosive power of a Ninjutsu, wouldn't it become even more powerful?
What Luo Ning envisioned was applying the Cherry Blossom Impact to the Big Bang Impact. One was an external manifestation of Nen, and the other was an internal enhancement of Chakra. One internal, one external—achieving a complementary effect where one plus one was greater than two.
After all, the Ninjutsu Luo Ning could perform were temporarily limited to C-rank and below. If he wanted to grow stronger, he didn't need to cultivate his Ninjutsu; the only way to improve was through his Nen. Using Nen to enhance the effects of his Ninjutsu perfectly suited his nature as an Enhancer!
After notifying Milia about the match details, Luo Ning began his attempt.
The simplest method was to repeatedly enter the Sharingan state and then control the energy transformation during the activation to achieve an 'interception' effect. He only needed to intercept a portion of his Nen, preventing it from turning into Chakra, to achieve the desired result.
It wasn't simple, but through his continuous attempts to open the Sharingan, Luo Ning could sense that it was possible. He just needed to find the balance point!